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“High school.”
“Why?”
“You don’t want to know the reason.”
“I want to discover everything there is to know about you, Emily.”
Everything about his words and inflections were different. “Another car accident. Another family who lost their baby. I knew then.”
A full minute ticked by.
“You have a very good heart,” he said quietly.
“I believe you do as well.”
“And you know better.”
He continued to be infuriating. “Did you ever want to be anything other than a killer?”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Emily. I will never do that. The truth is no. That’s what I was born and bred to do.”
“God. You just drive me insane. You act as if you have no redeeming qualities. If that were the case, you would hunt wild game instead of protecting it. You can stop hiding behind that ridiculous coat of armor. I can see right through you.” I muttered under my breath, returning my attention to the cub. I sensed I’d angered Kostya, but what the hell could he say to alter the truth?
Not a damn thing.
Maybe he’d punish me later for my impertinence, but I no longer cared. I’d made him a deal and I would honor it. At least I’d have the chance to say goodbye to my mother. As he continued driving, returning to the sullen, hulking man, I allowed my thoughts to drift to what my father had said on the voicemail. If he’d left me something, where would he have hidden it? I honestly had no idea.
“Your past is haunting you.” I threw out the statement, trying to get a reaction, any reaction.
He merely twisted his hand around the steering wheel, completely ignoring me.
I reacted without thinking, placing my hand on his arm. “I’ll help you if you’ll allow me to.” Why in God’s name had I made the offer? The brute would never allow me to help him. I expected laughter, admonishment, or one of his usual condemning statements. Any time he was challenged, he couldn’t handle it.
He surprised me against as he slowly turned his head, studying me briefly yet long enough I was thrown into another snippet of his world. When he pulled my hand into his, pressing it against his thigh, I wanted to crawl into his lap.
“No one can help me, Emily. Even if I believed you could, I would never draw you any further into my world. You’re too special, too vulnerable. You couldn’t handle it.”
“You underestimate me, Kostya. You’re simply too afraid of allowing anyone in.” I removed my hand, hating myself for doing so.
As soon as Kostya rounded the last corner, the area where we’d taken the cub just up ahead, I could hear Aziza growling over the truck’s engine. She was even more agitated than before. There were four guards, every one of them keeping their distance from the fence. When she attacked it, one of the guards raised his weapon.
“No!” I screamed, jumping out of the truck as soon as Kostya threw it into park. “Don’t you dare hurt her!” I stormed closer, moving in front of the man, daring him to shoot through me.
Kostya wasn’t far behind, immediately heading toward the soldier, backhanding him with no hesitation. “Como te atreves a desobedecer mis ordines!”
How dare you disobey my orders.
The words were filled with rage, but I suspected a part of the reason was because of my disobedience.
The guard remained on the ground, his expression one of fear. Aziza charged again, throwing her paw over the top, acting as if she was ready to leap over.
“Aziza,” I said in a soft, comforting voice, able to draw her attention away from the fallen man. She eyed me carefully, finally taking a deep whiff.
“Goddamn it,” Kostya hissed. “I’ll deal with you later,” he threw out in the soldier’s direction then moved toward the fence. What occurred next was utterly amazing.
As he began to speak in Spanish, what he said to Aziza brought tears to my eyes.
“You are a beautiful girl and your baby is safe. See? A very special person took care of her. Emily. Do you remember her? She slept by your baby’s side. I told you that nothing would happen to him.”
